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Subject:Re: Large numbers, Brit and Yank style From:Ian White <ian -at- IFWTECH -dot- DEMON -dot- CO -dot- UK> Date:Sun, 14 Jan 1996 22:13:06 +0000
In article <199601130415 -dot- XAA10545 -at- nacs -dot- net>, Stan Brown wrote:
>The recent terabyte discussion reminded me of a question I've
>been meaning to ask:
>In older British usage, a billion was sometimes a million million
>rather than a thousand million.
>Is that still true, so that the word "billion" may mean different
>things to different readers?
Yes, even though the American usage is gaining ground.
>If so, how do you deal with large
>numbers in materials to be used in different English-speaking
>countries?
Simple: never use "billion". Say "thousand million" or "million
million", whichever you mean; or use numbers.
